The Devious First-Daughter

Everyone thought Madam Ling was doomed. Unexpectedly, things changed again. When Ning Zu’an rushed back to the manor and wanted to drag Madam Ling out to take the blame, Madam Ling fainted. After a check, it was found that Madam Ling was pregnant and extremely weak, so she could not go out for a while.

Since things had come to this point, there was no difference whether Madam Ling went to the court or not. The emperor personally ordered that Madam Ling would be demoted to a maid in name and concubine in reality. All her children would be deemed illegitimate. Moreover, they were now not on par with a concubine’s children. That was to say, Ning Huaijing’s status was higher than Ning Huaiyuan’s now. The emperor restored Madam Ming’s status. As Madam Ming’s only daughter, Ning Xueyan was now the only legal daughter of Lord Protector’s Manor.

Given that Madam Ling was pregnant and could not move, she was spared from the penalty of death, but she would be severely punished. She was asked to move to a broken courtyard at the Auspicious Clouds Courtyard. As a concubine without any status, she did not even have the title of a concubine, which meant she would live like a servant.

When the imperial palace issued the order for Madam Ling to move out, Ning Xueyan was drawing in Bright Frost Garden. What she drew was Madam Ming from her memory. She was dressed in plain clothes and looked very weak. But even so, Madam Ming still looked calm and gentle, and there was a hint of kindness in her eyes.

Several maids accompanied Ning Xueyan and did not say anything. They quietly watched Ning Xueyan drawing Madam Ming on paper, stroke by stroke. But when it came to applying color, Ning Xueyan thought about it. She had not used the color red, which symbolized the legal wife, on Madam Ming’s clothes. Instead, she used the plain colors that she used to wear.

Seeing the familiar face in the painting, Mother Han shed tears. She wiped her tears away and choked with sobs. She put her palms together from time to time and whispered, “Madam Ming, the Fifth Young Lady has avenged your death. No one will look down on you. You will be gratified even in the netherworld.”

After praying, she wiped away her tears. Mother Han looked at the painting and asked, “Young Lady, why don’t you apply red on Madam Ming’s clothes? She is the main wife, so she has to be in red.”

When Madam Ming was still a young lady, she had a vibrant nature and had always liked this shade of bright red. She wore red colors and looked glorious, extraordinarily refined, and beautiful. In the circle of noble ladies, she was famous for her radiant beauty. Red was Madam Ling’s favorite color. But later, when Madam Ling married Ning Zu’an, she no longer wore any red clothes.

“Did my mother like bright red colors?” Ning Xueyan put down the brush in her hand to hide the sadness in her eyes. She walked to the window, looked at the blooming flowers outside, and asked softly.

Mother Han said angrily, “Madam likes it. Madam likes the color red the most. But since Madam Ling entered the manor, Madam Ming did not wear it again. She even cut up all her red clothes. The relationship between Marquis and her was getting worse, day by day. It was because Marquis brought a mistress into the manor and forced Madam to agree to it.”

Madam Ming was an enchanting woman, who loved the color red. She was the daughter of a noble family. She could be said to be the blessed daughter of God. She had married her cousin, who was her childhood sweetheart. She had thought that she would be fine from then on. Unexpectedly, this wretched man had a mistress outside. He even had a son and a daughter with that woman. Maybe when Madam Ling married into the manor, Madam Ming, a proud woman, was still in love with Ning Zu’an.

That was why all her red clothes had been cut into pieces. The red clothes indicated that the main wife’s love had already turned into ashes, when the love faded.

She was only the Marchioness in name, but received no affection. Therefore, when Madam Ling plotted against her, she did not put up a fight. She decisively took Ning Xueyan to the Bright Frost Garden, and never appeared in front of Ning Zu’an again. If the love was gone, the heart would be broken. So, she cut off all the threads of love. How could she wear her red clothes? As a strong woman, it would be a like a mockery.

Madam Ling fought desperately for the position, but this proud noble lady was not bothered about it. Since Madam Ling had tried so hard to get it, she was willing to give it away.

“Did my mother become indifferent to Marquis after Madam Ling came to Lord Protector’s Manor?” Ning Xueyan looked up at the clouds in the sky, and asked calmly.

“Yes, for a period, Madam and Marquis avoided each other. Even if she saw Marquis walking along the way, Madam would ignore him and just walk on by. Even if Marquis fawned on her, Madam would not pay any attention to him, but…” Mother Han paused and hesitated for a moment. She seemed to find this difficult to say.

“But… how did they have me?” Ning Xueyan asked softly. Her face was facing the window, and no one could see her face clearly.

“It’s… it was an accident. Once, Marquis came to the courtyard and said he missed Madam. Madam was in a bad mood, so she drank two more cups of wine, and then… she gave birth to you.” Mother Han lowered her head uneasily, when she said that.

Ning Xueyan turned her head and looked at Mother Han quietly. Her jet-black eyes fell on Mother Han for a long time. When Mother Han felt uncomfortable, Ning Xueyan showed a faint smile on her face. “Mother Han, don’t worry. Some things may be God’s will.”

Since this was God’s will, it meant that she would no longer ask. However, it did not mean that she would never ask again.

Mother Han could not help letting out a sigh of relief. It had only been a short while, but her hands were already drenched in cold sweat. “The Young Lady is getting more and more awe-inspiring. I could not say anything when she merely looked at me a few times.”

Lanning looked at Ning Xueyan thoughtfully and then looked at Mother Han, without saying anything.

“Young Lady, why did they not find the account books from the Vice Minister of Justice’s Manor?” Qingyu did not find anything unusual in the air. She was still immersed in the joy of Madam Ling’s downfall. Suddenly, she remembered something and asked in confusion. The account books could topple the Vice Minister of Justice’s Manor. Why didn’t her Young Lady reveal anything about them, when they were so well-prepared?

“Don’t worry about it. Anyway, these things can also get the Vice Minister of Justice’s Manor into trouble,” Ning Xueyan said calmly. Thinking of the message from her cousin, Ning Xueyan was lost in thought. It seemed that the Vice Minister of Justice’s Manor could not be handled for the time being. Otherwise, there would be a lot more that would be involved in this matter. It was not as simple as she thought.

There were some things that she thought she could escape after her rebirth. But now, it seemed that she was still in the trap…

The dilapidated courtyard, the table that was almost overturned, the bed that was merely a block, a quilt with cotton fibers exposed, and a stool with a broken leg, tied with string, were almost all that Madam Ling had now. Looking at everything in front of her, Madam Ling looked ferocious, and she firmly grabbed the quilt covering her body.

She pulled out all the cotton fibers. How could she bear to lose the things that she had been fighting for, for more than ten years? The servants in the manor openly gossiped about her when she moved here just now. How could she bear it?

She was the Marchioness, the actual Marchioness. She had given birth to two daughters and one son for the Marquis. What did the bi*ch Madam Ming have? She just gave birth to a daughter. Why should she be the principal wife? I was only a concubine. I was with the Marquis much longer than her. Why did those people not see these things, but only thought of Madam Ming as the hostess of the manor?

Then what was I? I worked hard for Lord Protector’s Manor and gave him a son, his only son.

“First Madam, it is time to take your medicine.” Mother Chen came in from outside, and sighed when she saw Madam Ling gritting her teeth, with a look of hatred.

Madam Ling sat up and did not say anything more. She took the tocolytic agent and drank it in one breath. Then, there was a black stain at the corner of her mouth. On her evil face, there was a sneer of extreme hatred. Her son and daughters had become illegitimate, even worse than a concubine’s status. Ning Xueyan, who was Madam Ming’s daughter, had become the daughter of the principal wife of Lord Protector. She was unwilling to give it up; she was absolutely unwilling to give it up.

She grabbed the empty bowl and smashed it on the ground. Her hands twitched and she clenched it twice. In the dingy room, her face was cold and pale.

“Mammy, please invite Fifth Young Lady here and tell her that I wish to make an apology to her and ask her to forgive me.” Madam Ling felt dizzy, but she still tried to hold back her anger. Since she wanted to frame Ning Xueyan, the b*tch, using the child in her belly, this was the best time for her to do that.

“Madam, what if the Fifth Young Lady does not want to come?” Mother Chen shivered and said in a low voice. She clearly knew that Madam Ling was no longer the glorious Marchioness in the Lord Protector’s Manor. It was not possible for Madam Ling to see the Fifth Young Lady, whenever she wanted to.

“If she does not want to come, you can say that I will go to her personally and apologize. She will not dare to force me at this time. After all, I am still pregnant.” Madam Ling said coldly. She stared at Mother Chen fiercely and she shivered for a moment. She did not dare to refuse and immediately agreed.

“Remember to invite the Marquis here by the way, when you go out. At this time, he should be in the study, right?” Madam Ling ordered again. Every day at this time, Ning Zu’an would deal with official business in the study, but this was only under normal circumstances. Madam Ling did not know that if it were not for this child, Ning Zu’an would have torn Madam Ling apart, because she had done so many evil things. These days, he was even scolded by the emperor, so he was in no mood to deal with the business.

“Yes, Marquis likes to deal with official affairs in the study at this time.” Seeing Madam Ling, who was like the devil, Mother Chen quickly lowered her head and dared not say anything more. Madam Ling, who was hot-tempered, had slapped her in the face just now. Until now, there was still a buzzing in her head, so she dared not disobey Madam Ling’s orders.

She was Madam Ling’s trusted subordinate. When Madam Ling was in power, she had offended many people in the manor. Now that Madam Ling had lost her power, she did not dare to show off. There were many people who were against her in the manor. Now she could only hope that Madam Ling would be better, so that she could have her day. Therefore, she still acted according to Madam Ling’s words.

“Then hurry up and invite Madam Dowager here. Tell her that I want to apologize to Ning Xueyan personally. Ask Madam Dowager to be the witness, and then secretly invite my elder brother here,” Madam Ling said, gritting her teeth. She wanted more people to see Ning Xueyan viciously push the child in her belly and ruin Ning Xueyan’s reputation.

With her elder brother around, even if the damned older woman cared about Ning Xueyan, she would not let her come to a good end.